26 September 2009

Digital Additions and Subtractions


Weaving Dreams
original photograph by artist

Floating World
original photograph by artist

Today was another play day for me -- how much fun to be able to sit and doodle with my photographs, creating other worlds and realms. There is so much to learn with these digital software programs that it becomes a bit daunting. However, I continue to slog away, making mistakes, starting over again . . . and again . . . and again.

I purposely chose to stay with one image and to keep changing the blending modes, colors, texture layers, etc. in the hopes that by using the one image I can truly see the alterations and how these tools work.

The first image has a texture layer in the background -- believe it or not, I scooped up a pile of yarns and ribbons from old knitting projects that I usually stuff into a crystal vase, thinking that I'll use them for fringes and such.

Somehow, the delicacy and "old world" effect of the yarns and ribbons seem to convey a sense of weaving. The rose itself, the simple yet beautiful Betty Prior rose, appears to float and thus the dreaming theme -- a bit of textural reverie.

The second image I tried for a kind of backlit old photo look, something one might find in a grandmother's photo album -- a bit dim and blurred, faded from exposure and handling. If I have more time, I might add a textured layer.

That's the thing -- time. Time runs out, chores must be done and eyeballs must be un-crossed. But I enjoyed this afternoon, and I hope you enjoy perusing these images. And here is one more for the road --

Old World Visions

Another layered image in my humble attempt to honor Severin Roesen, a 19th-century painter I admire particularly for his luscious details in the roses he painted. In this image, I used a photo of my David Austin Sweet Juliet roses, which came out a bit blurred, and a photograph of a moss-covered wall as the texture. Old English roses and moss seem to go together, again evoking another time and place . . .

Another version of the single rose image I uploaded as the new banner for my haiku blog -- so many versions from just one rose -- brilliant. Must be off now -- the little gray cells are getting dim . . . !

4 comments:

layers said...

Yes, I did enjoy looking at your digital images-- I agree it is fun to fool around on the computer with new imagery but also time consuming.

Kelly M. said...

Donna -- perhaps "fooling around" was not a good term as I did learn so much and posted 3 new works on Fine Art America! I just need to remember to pace myself -- :)

nancy neva gagliano said...

hmmmmmmm, so much to learn. which might mean photoshop is in my future, or a mac computer.
meanwhile, i too play, too much somedays. your "play" is inspiring, such subtle magic coming from the digital world via your fingertips. aren't we lucky to be able to experience all this?
i wrote a "double haiku" this morning, and posted that with photos that prompted it. so thought of you and had to check in.

Kelly M. said...

Nancy -- must go check that out! and thanks for the compliment -- digital may be quite ephemeral and gone tomorrow . . . but in the meantime, it does seem magical!